Sustainable gardens helping livelihoods grow

In a small village in Lautem municipality in Timor-Leste, there is a small garden flourishing with vegetables and legumes. It is the pride of joy of father-of-six Americo.

“The vegetables are growing healthy,” he says.

The garden, which also features a papaya tree, is what Americo relies on to help feed his family. Like many other parents in his village, Americo farms for a living. Most of the produce he grows ends up on the dinner table, and any excess vegetables are sold at the markets.

Coming from a long line of farmers; Americo knows a thing or two about growing food. But when he first began his own garden his knowledge was limited. The water spinach, eggplant and banana seeds that he planted produced poor yields and were constantly eaten by pests.

Through ChildFund Timor-Leste and local partner Fraterna, Americo has been learning about sustainable farming techniques, as well as composting, food storage, and how to manage pests and establish water conservation systems. ChildFund and Fraterna have also supported Americo’s family with a variety of seeds and gardening tools.

Today, Americo no longer grows eggplants and bananas. There is still water spinach in his garden, but the plants are thriving. Among the spinach, there is green mustard, lettuce, soyabeans and string beans.

Americo has chosen to use a method called trench gardening. “I learned to grow vegetables using the technique of first preparing the soil by digging a hole and then burying it with dried leaves and some animal waste before planting seeds,” he says.